Air circulating and distributing baseboard



y ,1 A. A. HANSEN AIR CIRCULATING AND DISTRIBUTING BASEBOARD Filed June '1, i954 A/rre A. Hansen IN VEN TOR.

BY an! United States Patent AIR CIRCULATING AND DISTRIBUTING BASEBOARD Alfrey A. Hansen, Deer Lodge, Mont. Application June 7, 1954, Serial No. 434,958

2 Claims. (Cl. 98-40) The present invention relates to ducts, generally speaking, such as are used in air conditioning homes and the like and has reference in particular to that which is herein referred to as a hollow baseboard, one which is adapted to replace the ordinary wooden or equivalent baseboard or mopboard, as the case may be and which constitutes means of circulating and distributing air for either heating or cooling as the situation may be.

As the preceding general description of the subject matter of invention implies, hollow moldings, baseboards and the like are not, of course, broadly new. In surveying the development of the prior art one would find many and varied styles of circulator type baseboards. The object of the present invention is, therefore, to functionally, structurally and otherwise improve upon similarly constructed and performing hollow baseboards and, in doing so, to provide a construction in which manufacturers, air-conditioning men and others will find their respective manufacturing and assembling requirements, installation and repair jobs, and every day needs effectually taken into account and aptly met.

In carrying out the principles of the present invention, a baseboard is provided which is generally elongate in form and hollow in type, the same being of appropriate cross-section for both ornamental and utilitarian purposes and being unique in that a partitioning or divider wall is incorporated and located on the interior and which constitutes a radiating member for either heated or cooled air, as the case may be.

Briefly summarized, a preferred embodiment of the invention is therefore characterized by an elongate, hollow box-like baseboard having top, bottom, front, back and end walls, said front wall being readily attachable and detachable and having upper and lower vertical portions joined by way of an inclined intermediate portion, the latter and said upper portion provided with air slots, said lower portion having air slots only at its junctural connection with the bottom wall, a duct communicating with the interior of the baseboard by way of the bottom wall, and an imperforate divider wall on said interior and fastened to the bottom wall in close-spaced proximity to said front wall and having a vertical lower portion paralleling the lower portion of the front wall and an inclined upper portion paralleling the inclined portion of the front wall and terminating on a plane below the top wall.

Further novelty is predicated on the specific construction wherein the divider or partitioning wall is detachably fastened to the bottom wall of the baseboard proper without having positive mechanical connection with the front wall, the latter wall having its upper and lower lengthwise edges separably connected with cooperating edges of the top and bottom wall, whereby assembling and disassembling for repair, cleaning and other purposes is thus provided.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view of the improved baseboard with a portion broken away to show the divider on the interior of the baseboard.

Figure 2 is an enlarged section on the vertical line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the insertable and removable end walls.

Referring now to the drawings and first to Figure 2, the reference character A designates a room or equivalent wall and B the floor. The letter C designates one of the ducts coming from the cellar furnace or elsewhere. This duct may, of course, convey hot air for heating purposes, or cold air for cooling purposes.

The elongated box-like baseboard is constructed of appropriate sheet material and is non-circular in cross-section but may vary in cross-section according to the requirements of builders and others. In any event, it comprises an imperforate top wall which is horizontal and denoted at 4 and a parallel bottom wall 6, a vertical interconnecting rear wall 8 and a front wall 10. The vertical insertable and removable end walls (one shown) are denoted by the numeral 12 and these have lateral attaching flanges 14 which telescope into the ends of the box and are fastened by appropriate fasteners 16. The outer or front edge of the narrower top wall is bent upon itself in a lengthwise direction as at 18 and is again rebent to form what may be called an interlocking channel 20 into which a laterally bent flange on the upper edge of the front wall is inserted and interlocked, the flange being 0 or insertable and removable as independent items.

denoted at 22. The front lower edge of the bottom Wall 6 is bent upon itself to form a similar channel 24 and at longitudinally spaced points it has upstanding vertical flanges 26, these to accommodate the bent channel portion 28 formed on the lower edge of the front wall whereby said front wall may be said to be readily attachable and detachable. The front wall is provided adjacent to the plane of the bottom wall with suitably spaced elongate air slots 30. Said front wall comprises a flat vertical lower portion 32 a similarly flat narrower upper portion 34 and an intervening or intermediate web portion 36 which is inclined to provide the ornamental shape illustrated in the drawings. The portions 34 and 36 are provided with air openings or holes 38 of any suitable size and spaced arrangement.

The numeral 40 designates an insertable and removable partitioning wall, also treated as a divider, and this is located on the interior of the box or baseboard. As a matter of fact, it is commensurate in length with the length of the top, bottom and front and back walls of said box. It has a vertically disposed imperforate portion 42 (Fig. 2) which parallels and corresponds to and is spaced from the front vertical portion 32, and an inclined upper portion 44 which is spaced from and approximately parallel with the inclined portion 36 of said front wall. One or more laterally bent and longitudinally spaced lugs are provided, as at 46, and these lugs abutting the wall portion 36 serve not only as spacing elements for the divider wall but also provide the complemental constantly open air slots, slots which afford communication between the main space in the box and the narrow passageway or space which now exists between the divider wall and the complemental portions 32 and 36 of the front wall. The lower edge portion 42 as best shown in Figure 2 is formed with a laterally bent keying flange 47 which is removably interlocked in and with the channel 24. Thus, the front wall and also the partition wall are readily applicable and removable, The partitioning wall 40 is thus located in close spaced proximity to the front wall and defines the passage or compartment 48 on the one hand, and a complemental main compartment 50 on the other hand. The aforementioned slots 46 provide the necessary communication between the two compartments 48 and 50, as is obvious. Assuming that the device is to be used for circulating and distributing hot air adjacent to the floor in a room, it will be evident that the hot air comes from the furnace or other source (not shown) up through the duct C as denoted by the indicating arrows 52. It then circulates upwardly through the main compartment or chamber 50, passes through the slot 46 into the compartment 48.

Insofar as the invention relates to the handling of hot air, as distinguished from so-called air-conditionedair, the upflowing or incoming air 52 enters the first chamber or compartment 50 in an already heated state. Some of the heated air passes up through this chamber 50, as indicated by the arrows 52, and out into the room by way of the uppermost slots 38 in the wall portion 34. The rest of the air is forced and circulates downwardly through the slots 46 and passes down into the chamber 48 and escapes into the room byway of the intermediate slots 33 (wall portion 36) and lowermost slots 30 in the wall portion 32.

As before stated, the invention is not necessarily limited to heating systems. That is to say, it is also a circulating and distributing duct or baseboard for cooling systems as well. As a matter of fact, it may also be used as a cold air return to a two-pipe furnace system in the so-called hot air furnace category.

The invention is based on a structure which is regarded as simple in construction, easy to install, easy to repair and clean, one which is possessed of the p erequisites of economy and otherwise fulfills the requirements of all concerned.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For use in air-conditioning a room or similar enclosure, an elongate hollow box-like baseboard having top, bottom, front, back and end walls, said front wall being readily attachable to and detachable from said top, bottom and end walls and having lengthwise upper and lower vertical portions joined by way of an inclined intermediate lengthwise portion, the latter portion and said upper portion being provided with air slots, said lower portion having air slots only at its junctural connection with the bottom wall, a duct communicating with the interior of the baseboard by way of the bottom Wall, and an imperforate divider wall commensurate in length with said top, bottom, front and back walls and arranged in said interior and fastened to the bottom Wall in close proximity to but spaced from said front wall and forming a relatively narrow passage between said front wall and divider wall, and having a vertical lower portion paralleling the lower portion of the front wall and an inclined upper portion paralleling the inclined intermediate portion of the front wall terminating on a plane below the plane of the top wall, the upper edge of said upper portion being spaced from the adjacent portion of said front wall and providing an air circulating opening affording communication between said passage and said interior.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein said divider wall is detachably fastened only to said bottom wall without positive connection with said front wall or said end walls, and the front wall has its upper and lower lengthwise edges connected with the cooperating edges of said top and bottom walls, the upper edge portion of said divider wall having lateral longitudinally spaced lugs abutting the adjacent portion of said front wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 77,022 Finkle Apr. 21, 1868 1,809,223 Tashjian June 9, 1931 2,147,906 Lintern Feb. 21, 1939 2,395,233 Richardson Feb. 19, 1946 2,483,704 Leigh Oct. 4, 1949 2,639,655 Whitehead May 26, 1953 

